Job 4:9
in Job 4By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they are consumed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
By the breath of God they perish, And by the blast of his anger are they consumed.
KJV
By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.
⋯
This verse in Job 4
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThe man of sin is said to be consumed with the breath of Christ's mouth, 2 Thess. ii. Some think that in attributing the destruction of sinners to the blast of God, and the breath of his nostrils, he refers to the wind which blew the house down upon Job's children, as if they were therefore sinners above all men because they suffered such things.
This site's exposition
those who plow iniquity
on Job 4:8-9
Eliphaz supports his doctrine with a farmer's proverb, sowing and reaping standing for sin and its punishment. The next line, "By the breath of God they perish," carries the figure into judgment, breath and wind doing what plow and harvest only pictured.
This site's exposition
By the breath of God they perish
Barnes takes the blast of His anger from the hot wind that sweeps a field, the harvest of those who plow iniquity in verse 8. Matthew Henry notes a reading in which the breath of God points at the wind of Job 1:19. Eliphaz never says it aloud.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Even, as I have seen, they that plough iniquity, and sow sorrows, and reap the same, by the blast of God do they perish, and by the breath of His nostrils are they consumed. To 'sow griefs' is to utter deceits, but to 'reap griefs' is to prevail by so speaking. Or, surely, they 'sow griefs,' who do froward actions, they 'reap griefs,' when they ate punished for this forwardness.
He carries this metaphor further in speaking about punishment. Corn fields usually dry up and are destroyed by a scorching wind. As Malachi says, "I will rebuke the devourer," i.e. the wind, "so that it may not devour the fruit of your land." (3:11) He …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Even as I have seen in others, so do I see in thee." 1. He speaks of sinners in general, politic busy sinners, that take pains in sin, for they plough iniquity; and expect gain by sin, for they sow wickedness. Those that plough plough in hope, but what is the issue?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
By the blast of God they perish,....
He corroborates his assertion by a vision which he had, in which he was reminded of the incontestable purity and justice of God, and the meanness, weakness, and sinfulness of man,
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The one verb, "are broken," does not suit both subjects; therefore, supply "the roaring of the bellowing lion is silenced." The strong lion dies of want at last, and the whelps, torn from the mother, are scattered, and the race becomes extinct.
By the blast of God they perish - As the noxious and parching east wind blasts and destroys vegetation, so the wicked perish under the indignation of the Almighty.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
By the blast of God - That is, by the judgment of God. The figure is taken from the hot and fiery wind, which, sweeping over a field of grain, dries it up and destroys it. In like manner Eliphaz says the wicked perish before God. And by the breath of his nostrils - By his anger. The Scripture often speaks of breathing out indignation and wrath; Act 9:1; Psa 27:12; 2Sa 22:16; Psa 18:15; Psa 33:6; notes at Isa 11:4; notes at Isa 30:28; notes at Isa 33:
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִנִּשְׁמַ֣ת | minishmat | from [the] breath of | H5397 → | 24 times |
| אֱל֣וֹהַ | ʾeloha | God | H433 → | 57 times |
| יֹאבֵ֑דוּ | yovedu | they perish | H6 → | 184 times |
| וּמֵר֖וּחַ | umeruach | and from [the] breath of | H7307 → | 378 times |
| אַפּ֣וֹ | ʾapo | anger his | H639 → | 276 times |
| יִכְלֽוּ׃ | yikhlu | they come to an end | H3615 → | 208 times |
מִנִּשְׁמַ֣תfrom [the] breath of
minishmatH5397 →24 times
אֱל֣וֹהַGod
ʾelohaH433 →57 times
יֹאבֵ֑דוּthey perish
yoveduH6 →184 times
וּמֵר֖וּחַand from [the] breath of
umeruachH7307 →378 times
אַפּ֣וֹanger his
ʾapoH639 →276 times
יִכְלֽוּ׃they come to an end
yikhluH3615 →208 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 11:4but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the…
it leads to
- Revelation 19:15
And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:8
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.
- Malachi 4:6
And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
- Proverbs 31:8–9
Open your mouth for those with no voice, for the cause of all the dispossessed.
- Revelation 19:15
Through
2 Thessalonians 2:8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.
it leads to
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3
Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed.
- Revelation 19:20–21
But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and…
- Isaiah 11:4
but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the…
- Revelation 20:10
And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day…
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Job
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Job; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book V; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.